Well, my cats kinda speak to me. When Pollux trots ahead of me into the bathroom, hops into the bathtub, and meows at me as I enter, it's pretty clear that he wants me to turn on the water so he can get a drink. (Never mind the sink just a few feet away has the water dripping at all times. No, he wants bathtub water.)

Does that count?

And Max just came to me and prodded me with a paw because he wanted scritches. Pretty obvious. I don't think the question means that; I think the question means something like "Does your goldfish tell you to go out and throw spaghetti sauce on people's lawns?"

You're not crazy if the squirrels talk to you. You're only crazy if you take their advice. NEVER let a squirrel give you a hot stock tip!

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Common sense is not a gift, but a curse. Because thenyou have to deal with all the people who don't have it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, my cats kinda speak to me. When Pollux trots ahead of me into the bathroom, hops into the bathtub, and meows at me as I enter, it's pretty clear that he wants me to turn on the water so he can get a drink. (Never mind the sink just a few feet away has the water dripping at all times. No, he wants bathtub water.)

Does that count?

And Max just came to me and prodded me with a paw because he wanted scritches. Pretty obvious. I don't think the question means that; I think the question means something like "Does your goldfish tell you to go out and throw spaghetti sauce on people's lawns?"

You're not crazy if the squirrels talk to you. You're only crazy if you take their advice. NEVER let a squirrel give you a hot stock tip!

Remember, if squirrels take an interest in you, you're not crazy... you're nuts.

TechCrunch tech conference kicks off with two guys presenting an app called "Titstare." Where you can upload pictures of breasts and rate other people's uploads. And somehow the organizers of this conference had no idea anyone would find this (made-up, I hope) app presentation offensive. A second presenter also simulated masturbation during his talk.

The official apology was "The two presentations were taken out of context. Also, the presentations were intended as satire. We apologize if anyone was offended."

(They did eventually release a much better apology, but seriously? Didn't they think the presentations might be worth, oh, at least a casual glance before giving them the green light?)

*headdesk**headdesk**headdesk* Why must people like this be Australian?! *headdesk**headdesk**headdesk*

Unalee, what you have there is your garden-variety crackpot. I'm surprised you haven't run into one of these before. I think just about every librarian here (DavidH, Yarnspinner, others) has stories about someone with an obsession over some thing or another and demands support for their position. Real journalists have the same problems as well.

Oh, I've met a few crackpots in the year and a half I've worked here. But this guy took it to a whole new level I've never seen before. I found informal journalism forums online that raked this guy up one side and down the other, and detail just which papers and media outlets have dealt with him or been the focus of his obsessive fact-checking.

He seems to have a genuine concern for accuracy, but his delivery is so horrifically self-centered and abrasive, that the message is lost.

When I was in college, there was a "street preacher" who would set up on a corner of campus and rant about every possible special interest group, ethnic group, and alternative lifestyle, attracting large crowds of angry students. The college newspaper looked into his history after Preacher Bob ranted about a particular ethnic group and a member of said ethnic group shoved him off of his soap box (seriously, he had his own soap box) and Preacher Bob was injured.

It turned out that Preacher Bob had been in such altercations on at least five other college campuses. And his MO was to sue the school for not protecting him from the angry students who assaulted him or for violating his rights to free speech when the campus security removed him from campus.

It sounds like "Mike" is trying to make himself such a nuisance that the college offers him whatever it takes to make him go away. You are a more patient person than I for putting up with him for so long!

Unalee, what you have there is your garden-variety crackpot. I'm surprised you haven't run into one of these before. I think just about every librarian here (DavidH, Yarnspinner, others) has stories about someone with an obsession over some thing or another and demands support for their position. Real journalists have the same problems as well.

Oh, I've met a few crackpots in the year and a half I've worked here. But this guy took it to a whole new level I've never seen before. I found informal journalism forums online that raked this guy up one side and down the other, and detail just which papers and media outlets have dealt with him or been the focus of his obsessive fact-checking.

He seems to have a genuine concern for accuracy, but his delivery is so horrifically self-centered and abrasive, that the message is lost.

When I was in college, there was a "street preacher" who would set up on a corner of campus and rant about every possible special interest group, ethnic group, and alternative lifestyle, attracting large crowds of angry students. The college newspaper looked into his history after Preacher Bob ranted about a particular ethnic group and a member of said ethnic group shoved him off of his soap box (seriously, he had his own soap box) and Preacher Bob was injured.

It turned out that Preacher Bob had been in such altercations on at least five other college campuses. And his MO was to sue the school for not protecting him from the angry students who assaulted him or for violating his rights to free speech when the campus security removed him from campus.

It sounds like "Mike" is trying to make himself such a nuisance that the college offers him whatever it takes to make him go away. You are a more patient person than I for putting up with him for so long!

That sounds like one of the few regular street preachers we had on my campus.

We had a fringe group in elaborate robes that would set up pedestals near our math building and then preach about how America (where we are) is full of terrible, selfish ungodly people and how women shouldn't be allowed to go to college or get jobs. Women should be married out of high school and stay at home the rest of their lives taking care of the house and children.

We had a fringe group in elaborate robes that would set up pedestals near our math building and then preach about how America (where we are) is full of terrible, selfish ungodly people and how women shouldn't be allowed to go to college or get jobs. Women should be married out of high school and stay at home the rest of their lives taking care of the house and children.

This was in 2011.

They let women finish high school? No silly female needs more than an 8th-grade education. Marry her off at 14. Keep her belly filled with kids, and she won't get uppity notions like taking a job away from a man.

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Common sense is not a gift, but a curse. Because thenyou have to deal with all the people who don't have it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We had a fringe group in elaborate robes that would set up pedestals near our math building and then preach about how America (where we are) is full of terrible, selfish ungodly people and how women shouldn't be allowed to go to college or get jobs. Women should be married out of high school and stay at home the rest of their lives taking care of the house and children.

This was in 2011.

Sounds like some of my relatives. Oddly enough, they have no problem with the women in their lives working two part-time jobs between pregnancies, 12-15 hr days, paying the bills, mowing the lawn, etc. But not driving. Driving is a manly man thing. So are full time (9 to 5) jobs, and going out with the guys in the evenings. Girls just don't do that.

It doesn't matter what year it is. There will always be jerks.

Logged

You are only young once. After that you have to think up some other excuse.

Someone my friend works with successfully committed Professional Darwinism lately. Their company has a few things that must be monitored around the clock. Some of those things actually belong to another company. My friend's former coworker was on the third shift - the one ending at dawn. He had been taking advantage of more or less being the only one in the building to commit a number of thefts. The client discovered the theft of some of their equipment during an audit, and it was traced back to this employee - at which point, my friend's company discovered additional thievery. They demanded that he be fired - a demand I wholeheartedly agree with! - and I believe there are criminal charges in the works.